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Surat (Gujarat) [India], June 25: Leading industrialist and environmentalist Viral Desai, popularly known as Greenman, is developing a large-scale urban forest at Sarthana Nature Park in Surat as part of his efforts to strengthen the city’s green cover and biodiversity.

The initiative was announced during a tree plantation drive organised at the park on June 15. Desai said more than 7,500 trees have been successfully planted and nurtured at the site in the last few years. The next phase of the drive will focus on transforming the area into a modern urban forest, which will be developed and implemented in two phases.

Speaking on the occasion, Viral Desai said, “My association with Sarthana Nature Park spans more than seven years. Our objective has always been to create a thriving ecosystem for wildlife and birds within an urban environment. The proposed urban forest will be developed in two phases and will contribute towards strengthening Surat’s environmental landscape while creating vital green lungs for the city.”

According to Desai, the project will enhance ecological sustainability within Surat by increasing green cover, improving air quality and creating a natural habitat for birds and other species. The initiative is also expected to support biodiversity conservation and contribute to climate resilience in the region.

Over the years, Desai has led several environmental campaigns focused on afforestation, climate action and sustainable urban development. He has also developed around eight urban forests across Surat city. The planned urban forest at Sarthana Nature Park is expected to become an important ecological asset for the city.

New Delhi [India], June 25: The prestigious Manappuram VPN IBE Awards 2026 was held on June 23, 2026, at the Gokulam Park Hotel & Convention Centre, Kochi, honouring distinguished personalities who have made remarkable contributions to business, technology, retail, innovation, and cinema. The awards were presented by Shri V. P. Nandakumar, Chairman & Managing Director of Manappuram Finance Ltd., and Dr. Ajit Ravi, Chairman of Pegasus. Hosted by Dr. Ajit Ravi, the event celebrated individuals whose achievements have inspired excellence and created a lasting impact on society.

Among the distinguished awardees, Dr. Jehangir, Chairman & Managing Director of NeST Group of Companies, received the Global Technology Leadership Award in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the global technology sector. As Dr. Jehangir was unable to attend the ceremony, the award was received on his behalf by Shri Sajan David, President, New Initiatives, who represented him at the event. Shri Gopu Nandilath, Chairman & Managing Director of Gopu Nandilath Group, was honoured with the Retail Industry Icon Award in recognition of his pioneering leadership in the retail industry. Dr. Viju Jacob, Executive Chairman of Synthite Industries Limited, was conferred with the Global Business Excellence and Innovation Award for his outstanding achievements in business growth and innovation.

Adding further prestige to the ceremony, Padma Shri Balachandra Menon, renowned Indian film director, actor, and screenwriter, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his invaluable contributions to Indian cinema. The event concluded on a high note with the awardees receiving warm applause from an audience comprising business leaders, dignitaries, and distinguished guests. The VPN IBE Awards once again reaffirmed its stature as a platform that recognizes visionary leadership, innovation, and lifelong excellence across diverse fields.

Mrs. Vishakha Bhujbal Honoured with ‘Women Power Impact Creator of the Year Award

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 25: Mrs. Vishakha Bhujbal, Senior Management Representative of the Mumbai Educational Trust (MET), has been conferred with the ‘Women Power Impact Creator of the Year Award’ at the 11th Annual Women Power Summit & Awards 2026. Presented under the ‘Jury’s Special Choice Category’ for her ‘Excellence in creating impact through education,’ the award was conferred at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), BKC, Mumbai, by Krishna Shroff, entrepreneur, documentary filmmaker and TV personality.

The award acknowledges Mrs. Bhujbal’s efforts in building holistic ecosystems of change that go beyond traditional academic boundaries, reflecting a philosophy that prioritises human flourishing over corporate titles. In her acceptance speech, she described leadership as creating spaces where people can truly thrive, rooted in the belief that meaningful progress comes from educating the mind, uplifting the community, and honouring the soul.

Speaking on the significance of the venue, she noted that institutional success is closely tied to the prosperity of the nation’s most vulnerable sectors, she said “Standing here today at the iconic National Stock Exchange, it strikes me that India’s real economic wealth isn’t just measured in market graphs. It’s anchored right there, at the grassroots. So, let’s keep breaking barriers, bridging gaps, and working together to build an India where no one is left behind. Let’s Break Free, and Be the Power!”

Mrs. Bhujbal’s recognition is rooted in her transformative work with marginalised communities, particularly her advocacy for resilient women in rural India, driven by the belief that empowering a woman is one of the most effective ways to uplift entire families. This extends to her support for indigenous Warli artistes, where her focus has gone beyond cultural preservation to building economic and artistic independence, helping create dignified, self-reliant livelihoods that keep their ancient art form thriving for generations to come.

Organised by Billennium Divas, the 11th Annual Women Power Summit is one of India’s leading platforms for recognising women entrepreneurs and ecosystem enablers. This year’s edition brought together over 250 change-makers, including senior bureaucrats, policymakers, and industry leaders, to honour individuals driving tangible value toward India’s vision of becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy. Mrs. Bhujbal’s grassroots initiatives serve as a bridge to this goal, fostering the resilient, inclusive foundation needed for the country’s long-term economic growth.

About MET Bhujbal Knowledge City

The Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) is a premier educational trust focused on shaping the bright, entrepreneurial minds of tomorrow. Established as a beacon of excellence, the institution remains dedicated to shaping academic and entrepreneurial minds of tomorrow by integrating world-class education with a profound sense of social and community responsibility.

About Billennium Divas Billennium Divas is a leading platform dedicated to recognizing business excellence and supporting the growth of the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The organization focuses on empowering women-led startups and ecosystem players through recognition, networking, and high-impact events like the Women Power Summit & Awards to strengthen the global position of women in business.

For more details contact – Rishi Basu | 7738920559 | rishi@frangipanicommunications.org

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 24: Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) oral care brand Closeup has secured a place in both the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records for “Maximum Videos Generated Using Artificial Intelligence”. With Closeup Love Tunes, the brand has created the largest collection of AI-generated personalised love-song videos ever produced, marking a first-of-its-kind achievement.

• More than 1 million page views
• 85,000 personalised AI videos generated and delivered
• 439 million+ views on influencer-led content & brand assets featuring Carry Minati

The recognition comes from two independent, credible record-keeping institutions. The Asia Book of Records is registered under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It adjudicates and certifies record-breaking feats across the Asian continent through a rigorous, multi-phase verification protocol — from evidence forensics to review by an independent adjudication board. The India Book of Records is a recognised national record-keeping body that has served as a trusted custodian of India’s most extraordinary achievements for nearly two decades. Both organisations verify achievements independently against defined evidence and criteria, making this dual recognition a credible and hard-won validation of the campaign’s unprecedented scale.

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Launched during Valentine’s season 2026, Closeup Love Tunes invited young people across India to create a one-of-a-kind declaration of love using the power of generative AI. Users simply uploaded a selfie, picked a vibe — Romantic, Rock, or Rap — and within minutes received a cinematic, lip-synced music video of themselves performing their own personalised rendition of the beloved Closeup jingle, Paas Aao Na, delivered straight to WhatsApp. The response was extraordinary: the campaign microsite recorded more than one million page views, with approximately 85,000 entries received and personalised AI-generated music videos delivered to users. Influencer-led content and brand assets featuring India’s biggest YouTuber, CarryMinati amassed over 439 million views, amplifying the campaign’s reach to become one of the most talked-about Valentine’s Day activation in the country.

Behind the simple, user-friendly experience was an enormous engineering effort. Closeup Love Tunes was powered by a sophisticated 19-step AI orchestration engine — blending face animation, AI-composed music, lyric generation, and cinematic video rendering — all operating at scale and delivered instantly via WhatsApp. The campaign was built end-to-end by HiVoco Studios in partnership with HUL and WPP Mindshare India. A record for sheer volume is, at its heart, proof that the entire technology stack — and the collaboration behind it — held together flawlessly when it mattered most.

“Closeup has always stood for enabling closeness and confidence among young India. With Closeup Love Tunes, we set out to help young people express love in a way that felt personal, effortless and unforgettable — and this recognition from the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records validates that ambition at scale,” said Vipul Mathur, Executive Director, Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Limited. “Generating approximately 85,000 personalised AI music videos and reaching over 439 million views through influencer-led content is not just a campaign metric — it is proof that when technology is used to serve a genuine human emotion, it resonates. This was made possible by an exceptional collaboration across our teams at HUL, WPP Mindshare and Hivoco Studios, and it’s truly a testament to the power of this collaboration.”

“Closeup Love Tunes 2.0 represents a creative breakthrough, showcasing how generative AI can be deployed at scale to create hyper-personalized user experiences. This campaign brings together a full orchestration stack, from AI-assisted song creation to selfie-to-style visual generation and audio-driven lip-sync video rendering. It’s about turning a user’s selfie into a production-ready music video delivered in minutes, making technology a powerful enabler of emotion. This recognition from the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records validates that culture and technology can come together in meaningful ways to create a scalable and impactful campaign” said Vinish Mathews, Head – Team Fulcrum, South Asia, WPP Media.

Pritesh Chothani, Founder & CEO, HiVoco Studios, said, “Closeup Love Tunes Season 2 demonstrated what becomes possible when visionary brand thinking, strategic creativity and advanced AI orchestration come together. Working alongside Closeup and WPP Media, HiVoco Studios built and operated the campaign’s multi-stage AI orchestration framework that transformed consumer selfies into fully personalised music videos at scale. Delivering approximately 85,000 unique videos within a short campaign window required sophisticated automation, multimodal AI workflows and seamless delivery infrastructure. The recognitions from both the India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records are a testament to what can be achieved when technology is deployed in service of genuine human expression.”

Closeup Love Tunes builds on the brand’s long-standing positioning around enabling closeness and is rooted in the insight that many young people find it difficult to articulate romantic feelings. Music, being a universal language of emotion, served as the perfect medium. The campaign engaged youth across most-frequented platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Whatsapp through influencer content, podcasts and relatable memes.

About Closeup

Closeup is Hindustan Unilever Limited’s oral care brand synonymous with confidence, freshness and closeness. With a legacy of championing bold self-expression among young India, Closeup continues to push the boundaries of how brands connect with Gen Z audiences.

About Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods company with a heritage of over 90 years in India. With over 50 brands spanning 15+ categories, HUL reaches 9 out of 10 Indian households. The Company had a turnover of ₹63,763 crore in FY 2025-26. HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care products.

New Delhi [India], June 25: SAJ Group Hotels & Resorts and DQ Watches is thrilled to announce Kristina Kuralenok from Russia as the winner of Miss Glam World 2026! The first runner-up title goes to Pournami Murali from India, followed by Ana Carolina Henrich Lucatelli from Brazil as the second runner-up, and Garaikhanova Elina from Bashkortostan as the third runner-up.

The grand finale of Miss Glam World 2026 was held on June 23rd at the Gokulam Park Hotel & Convention Centre, Kochi. Pegasus Global Pvt Ltd, a name synonymous with excellence in event production, flawlessly executed the event. With their hallmark precision and creativity, Pegasus once again proved why they’re considered leaders in the industry—delivering a spectacular experience that captivated every guest and participant alike.

Reigning queen Alina Farkhutdinova crowned the winner of the title. Sajan Varghese, CMD of SAJ Group of Hotels & Resorts, crowned the First Runner-Up. Mini Sajan, CEO of SAJ Group of Hotels & Resorts, crowned the Second Runner-Up, while Annie Varghese, Director of SAJ Group of Hotels & Resorts, and Dr. Ajit Ravi, Chairman of Pegasus Global Pvt. Ltd, crowned the Third Runner-Up. The coronation ceremony was held in the presence of Dr. Ajit Ravi, Chairman of Pegasus Global Pvt. Ltd. 

Continental Titles

Miss Glam World Asia –Indonesia (Catherine Joan Ayu Nurlita Wesi)

Miss Glam World Africa – Cameroon (Dai Ndouve Mvroumsia Pamela)

Miss Glam World Europe – France (Serena Silva)

Miss Glam World South America – Brazil (Ana Carolina Henrich Lucatelli)

Miss Glam World North America – Mexico (Susana Ortiz Jaramillo)

Subtitle Winners

Miss Glam World National Costume – Russia (Kristina Kuralenok)

Miss Glam World Congeniality – Mexico (Susana Ortiz Jaramillo)

Miss Glam World Fashionista – Philippines (Czarline Cheska Syl Mercado)

Miss Glam World Talent – Serbia (Marina Milenkovic)

Miss Glam World Diligent – Indonesia (Catherine Joan Ayu Nurlita Wesi)

Miss Glam World Inspiring – Bashkortostan (Garaikhanova Elina)

Miss Glam World Vivacious – France (Serena Silva)

Miss Glam World Shining Star – Nepal (Nandani Sharma)

Miss Glam World Ramp Walk – Brazil (Ana Carolina Henrich Lucatelli)

SAJ Group Hotels and Resorts and DQUE are the main partners of Miss Glam World 2026, organized by Pegasus Global Pvt Ltd. Unique Times, Alcazar Watches, Parakkat Resorts, Vibe Munnar, and Green Media are powered by Partners.

Co-partners are DQUE Soap, Aiswaria Outdoor Media, Europe Times, UT World, Times New, uniquetimes.org, Vikas VKS Make-Up Artist, Gokulam Park Hotel & Convention Centre, VPS Lakeshore Hospital, JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Akshay Inco, and VKS Beauty and Bridal Lounge.

The primary goal of this competition is to celebrate and showcase the rich and diverse cultural heritage of each participating country, while also boosting tourism and global connections. Their pageants focus on talent, intelligence, and personality, ensuring that true substance shines on stage.

Ashissh Raichura, Founder & CEO, Scanbo Technologies

Surat (Gujarat) [India], June 25: India is having a healthcare AI moment. Every week brings a new chatbot that answers medical questions, a new app that promises to diagnose from a photograph, a new model that scores well on a medical exam. The excitement is real, and some of it is justified. But after a decade of building and deploying AI diagnostics in real clinical settings, I want to offer a note of caution about where we are putting our attention.

We are spending most of our energy on the easy half of the problem and almost none on the hard half. And the hard half is the one that actually determines whether AI improves health outcomes for ordinary Indians or simply generates impressive demonstrations that never reach the people who need them.

The chatbot era is loud. The real test is quieter.

A chatbot is software. It is relatively cheap to build, easy to demonstrate, and instantly shareable. You can launch one from a laptop and have a million people try it in a week. That is why so much of the Indian health AI conversation has gravitated toward conversational tools and consumer apps. They are visible, they are fundable, and they make for good headlines.

A cardiac signal is something else entirely. To capture a clean, diagnostic-grade reading of a human heart at the point of care, you need a reliable device, accurate sensors, consistent calibration, and a way to turn that raw signal into something a clinician can act on. None of that is glamorous. None of it trends on social media. But it is the actual foundation of clinical AI. Because an algorithm, however sophisticated, is only as good as the signal you feed it. Garbage in, garbage out has not stopped being true just because the model got bigger.

This is India’s real health AI test. Not whether we can build clever software, we clearly can, but whether we can build the diagnostic infrastructure that makes the software meaningful in a clinic in a small town with unreliable power and one overworked physician.

Signal quality is the foundation everyone skips

In the clinics where our technology operates, the lesson that repeats itself is simple. The quality of the AI output depends entirely on the quality of the input. A device that captures over a hundred thousand data points in a single blood pressure measurement gives the AI something rich to work with. A poorly calibrated reading taken in a hurry gives you a confident-sounding answer built on noise.

Most of India’s primary healthcare still runs on fragmented records, basic equipment, and data scattered across systems that do not speak to each other. You cannot build trustworthy clinical AI on that foundation. The starting point is not a better algorithm. It is a better signal, captured reliably, at the moment of patient contact. We learned early that if you do not control the device, you do not control the signal, and if you do not control the signal, you cannot stand behind the diagnosis. That is why we chose to build the full stack, device, intelligence, and clinical record, as one system rather than stitching together parts that were never designed to work together.

India’s real opportunity is at the frontline

Here is what excites me about India specifically. We have one of the largest frontline health workforces in the world. Over a million ASHA workers and hundreds of thousands of community health workers are already in the villages, already trusted, already doing the work. They are an extraordinary national asset that no other country can match at this scale.

The wrong move is to bypass them with a chatbot and call it access. The right move is to put reliable, AI-powered diagnostic tools in their hands. When you do that, you do not get “better than nothing.” You get something genuinely powerful. A trusted human who knows the family, equipped with intelligence that makes her as capable as a specialist in a city hospital. An algorithm on a phone can give a villager an answer. A health worker with the right tools gives them care. Those are not the same thing, and India of all countries should not confuse them.

The data question we cannot postpone

There is one more part of this test that we are not talking about enough. As India builds the largest pool of health and biometric data on earth, through digital health programmes, wearables, and connected devices, we are creating something of enormous value. That data will power the next generation of medicine. The question is who owns it and who benefits from it.

I believe this data is a sovereign asset and, more fundamentally, it belongs to the people who generate it. A citizen should have a say in how their biological data is used and a stake in the value it creates, not simply receive a free app in exchange for the most personal information they will ever produce. I call this principle dignity over dependency. Health data is not exhaust to be harvested. It is a national resource and a personal one, and how India governs it now will shape the trust people place in health AI for a generation.

What must change

Three things need to shift if India is to pass this test.

First, we must value the hard infrastructure as much as the visible software. The funding, the talent, and the policy attention should flow toward diagnostic signal capture at the frontline, not only toward consumer-facing apps. The unglamorous work is the work that changes outcomes.

Second, we must design for the clinician and the health worker, not around them. Technology that adds steps to an overloaded clinic gets abandoned, no matter how accurate it is. The test of any tool is whether it makes the human delivering care more capable, and whether the patient ends up better served.

Third, we must treat data governance as foundational, not as an afterthought. Build the consent, the ownership, and the participation from the start. Trust is the one thing that, once lost, no algorithm can recover.

India does not lack ambition or talent in health AI. What will separate real progress from expensive experimentation is whether we are willing to do the harder, quieter work beneath the headlines. The chatbots are the easy part. The cardiac signal, captured cleanly, in a real clinic, for a real patient who owns their own data, that is the test. And it is one I believe India can pass, if we choose to build for dignity rather than dependency.

Ashissh Raichura is the Founder and CEO of Scanbo Technologies, which builds AI-powered point-of-care diagnostic technology. He is the author of the manifesto “Dignity over Dependency” (dignityoverdependency.org).